Chapter 16
The events that concluded that night were confusing and altogether mind scrambling. I was hopeful when my proposal silenced her tears, but after sitting in silence for almost a full twenty minutes, Niki pushed by me and ran from the barracks, no noise but her breathing for my ears to hear as she ran away. I followed her to the door, calling her name, but she never slowed down. When we exited the barracks, I stopped and she ran from the palace. I could see her running down the stairs in the distance before she disappeared beyond the overcasting clouds. Collin stood behind me, looking just as confused as we exchanged a glance.
"I have to go after her" I stated, but remained unmoving
"Yes, you do. Go, quickly…I don't know what she plans to do out there" Collin agreed, shoving me slightly in the direction she fled
I looked at him and nodded before turning to run after Niki. Though before I could take a single step, Sky landed directly in front of me.
"No, you need to give her space" he said, surprising both Collin and me
"What do you mean?" we asked in unison
"She was upset, confused, and angry, so when you asked her hand, the emotions mixed too heavily. I could sense it from the peach tree, yet you were too caught up in your own emotions to realize how much you sent her emotion aster. Give her space and meditate on this. You may be a master but you still have much to learn on this side of things" he replied
I didn't want to, but I knew and believed he was right. I knew I should've paid more attention when I went to walk with Viper when I sensed the sadness and confusion in Niki. I nodded and took to flight, going to the peach tree. I sat at its base with my legs crossed, placing my hands in my legs. I closed my eyes and began the meditative breathing, in the nose and out the mouth in a slow steady rhythm. How could I not have known about this? Did I not ask enough of how she was while I was gone, or did she really not want me to know? How can I fix what I've done? I hope I haven't ruined things between us. These thoughts ran through my mind all night, trying to find a solution. Suddenly, a solution snapped into my mind. I needed to remind her of why she trusted me so, and why this isn't the end for us. The energy and hope that flowed through my body at that moment became too much and I had to let it go. I took my bow quickly from my back and aimed it at the sky, shooting a bright gold bolt into where the sun would soon be rising. It went only a few thousand feet up before exploding into a glowing star in the sky, quickly dissolving into the air. I smiled to myself before taking flight and going into town to find Niki.
It took me no time at all to reach the bottom. I ran to my house first, thinking maybe that was the only place she could spend the night. I had no luck, only finding an empty house. I next checked Mr. Pings, but his guest room was still the way Po left it.
"I'm sorry, Fisk, I haven't seen her since last week. Has something happened?" Mr. Ping asked
"I'm afraid so. I've no time to explain. I must find her" I said, and before waiting for an answer ran out
I was about to go back up to the palace to see if she had returned, but before I could I heard a familiar bunny call my name.
"Fisk!" Lucy called, making me turn around to see her and Li-Yang running at me with worried expressions on their faces
"What's wrong?" I asked
"Too much. Niki spent the night with us, and someone has appeared at the entrance of town. It's Wan Wu…she stumbling around, injured badly looking for you" Li-Yang said hastily
I reacted on pure instinct. The first thing I did was the closest. I ran towards the entrance of town to find Wan barely wearing anything. Only the remains of her shredded cloths. The skin I could see was covered in cuts, tattered fur and her left arm was clearly broken. I sprinted to her, trying to get to her as fast as possible. When she saw me approaching, she flashed a weak smile, and just as I got to her she collapsed, falling into my arms as I kneeled to the ground so she could lie down.
"Wan, what happened to you?" I asked
"An attack…in Gongmen City. A creature of darkness we couldn't touch, let alone defeat. My sisters were…killed and…I didn't know where else to go…" she said, then slipped from consciousness
"Phantom" I said to myself, "someone send for Sky to meet me at my house, NOW!" I screamed at the gathering crowd before picking her up bridal stile and running to my house
Upon arrival I laid her in my bed, and then quickly ran to grab my medical supplies to set the bone and close the wounds. She felt no pain in her unconscious state as I set the bone, cleaned her cuts, stitched her up, and in the process had to remove with little shreds of clothing she had on. I wrapped her in a blanket after putting her arm in a sling, letting her rest in the bed. Just then, Sky ran in.
"What happened? People said you needed me to get here urgently" he said, then checked everything in the room
"She came into town beaten and injured. As her final words before slipping from consciousness, she told me a being of darkness attacked Gongmen city. They couldn't defeat it and her sisters were killed" I said quite sad at knowing this
"W-what happened?" I heard from the bed
We both looked to see Wan awake and about to sit up. I quickly stopped her, as it would cause her great pain and reveal her more private areas to our eyes.
"Why am I in so much pain?" she groaned
"Wan…how much do you remember?" I asked
Before replying, she forced me to let her sit up, wrapping the blanket around her chest under her arms.
"I was in Gongmen City…investigating a weird hole that opened up in the royal courtyard. My sisters were there with all the royal guards…and…oh my god, they were killed!" she exclaimed, beginning to cry
I pulled her into a comforting hug as she sobbed into my chest. After a while of this, Sky spoke.
"Wan, I'm sorry for your loss, but it's vital you tell us what came out of that hole" he said
"It was seemingly made of darkness…it looked like it was the shape of an Ox, wielding a spear, but nothing we had could even touch it" she said, stopping her cries and becoming angry
"Just as I thought. It's a phantom General" Sky said
"What?" I asked
"They are at least three times as powerful as a standard Phantom Warrior, and you've only fought Tai Lung. He's only three fourths as strong as a phantom warrior. Before I was united with Biyu, I had to be beyond my max power to defeat one. It won't be hard for us now, but we must be cautious" he concluded
"Fisk?" Wan said, grabbing my attention, "No matter what, you kill that thing"
I nodded and looked at Sky. He told me to grab anything I would need before leaving.
"I only need my heart" I said
"Under the circumstances, is your heart ready?" he asked
"Yes" I said without hesitation
With that, we ran out of my house and went for the exit of the village.
"Fisk, wait!" I heard from behind me
When I turned I saw Niki running straight for me. When she was close enough, she leaped into my arms, hugging me and crying at the same time.
"Fisk, I'm so sorry for what happened. I was sad, and confused…I didn't know how to respond…I just flipped!" she exclaimed
"Niki, it's ok! What's important now is it's in the past. All we need worry about now is the present" I said
"You're right…and the answer is yes" she said, catching me off guard
"What?"
"I will give you my hand in marriage…just please make it back" she replied, continuing her crying
"I will. Tell the news to viper. We'll be married as soon as possible…she can plan everything out. And we can go wherever you want to celebrate" I said, "Now I have to go"
We shared a goodbye kiss before I ran to catch up with Sky, who was hovering in the air above the entrance. Once I caught up to him, we flew to Gongmen City. Through the mountains, over the bamboo forest, across the scorching desert, and into the harbor. It took under an hour to get there at top speed, and the site took our breaths away. Everything in the city was smoking. Buildings destroyed, homes on fire. The site angered me. And towering above the wreckage of a building was the phantom responsible, exactly as Wan described. I couldn't explain the feeling, but I hungered to fight this creature. I felt a need to bring it to justice.
"Fisk, I know we came to fight it together, but I think you beet it on your own" Sky said, surprising me
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking at him questioningly
"I'll be here if things get too hard, but I sense in you, anger and a spark. Use it and this will be an easy victory. Use it as I did" he said
I didn't reply, but nod before flying at top speed towards the phantom. He had no idea I was drawing near until I let out a terrifying battle cry. He barely had time to turn around before I slammed into him, sending us both through the remains of a burning building. When we broke through the other side, I rolled to my feet while he slammed into another still standing building. He was quick to his feet to see what exactly had hit him. I already had my bow in hand and was ready to fight when he caught sight of me. He was in the shape of a large Ox as Wan had said, wielding a dark spear. He was at least six inches taller than me. When he saw me, an evil smile creped onto his face. He began to chuckle.
"You aren't the one I'm here for. Where's that grand old Xing that sent my master back to the underworld?" he asked, voice deep
"Sorry, but you'll just have to deal with me" I replied, quickly taking aim and firing
He was faster than Tai Lung was, however, and dodged the shot with ease. He leaned to the side, allowing the shot to pass him by before charging at me, going to run me through with his spear. I used my bow to knock the spear aside before sending my foot to his face in a backflip motion, doing a full flip before landing it. He stood back and felt his jaw, obviously feeling the pain of my attack.
"You're not bad, kid. I'll have some fun with you before I test the weakening strength of your master!" he yelled, then charged
This time I didn't react correctly. I tried to block his attack, giving him the opportunity to grab my arm and throw me into the same building he crashed into. The back of my head slammed into the stone, causing my vision to blur and my ears to ring. I could see the outline of his dark figure slowly coming closer.
"Guess I over estimated you. You are weak!" he yelled, then his figure quickened its advancing pace
I could slightly make out his foot flying through the air before I felt the pain of it connecting with the side of my face before I went flying. I landed painfully on some stone rubble, feeling the pain of cuts forming on my arms and legs. No matter how I tried, I somehow couldn't muster the strength to move. The blow to my head did something to me.
"Since you don't plan to fight anymore, I've grown bored. Spies we have in the living world say that the newest Xing to your way has grown attached to someone in this world. A Wolf…" he said, causing my senses to begin returning…sight, sound and feeling, but I still couldn't muster the strength to move, though I was able to shift
"Oh, so the rumors are true…can't have the chance of the Xing blood line carrying on. I'll have to take care of her when you're dead. It's a pity, really. Young body like that…people would pay a fortune" he said
This time, his words did the trick. My anger lit a spark inside. I felt my power welling up inside, and knew all I had to do was release it. I forced myself to stand, a look of furry on my face.
"Finally. I was getting worried I broke you too soon" he said, getting into a full offense stance
"I'll kill you!" I screamed before charging, gliding at ground level in his direction
He was caught off guard by my sudden burst of speed and had no time to react before my knee collided with his chest, sending him in to a backflip. He managed to land it, but had no time to do anything more. I grabbed my bow off the ground and shot him quickly with a Solar Comet, knocking him to the ground. He lay there for a while, unmoving, leaving me to breathe heavily. I was surprised when he began to chuckle on the ground. He then stood back up.
"Is that the best you can do? Your girlfriend is gonna die for sure at this rate. Maybe I won't waste that body, though" he said, grabbing his spear
His words turned the ember in me into a wildfire. The energy welled up even more, and I only reacted on instinct. I put my hands out in front of me, and they began to glow gold.
"Cosmic Cloud!" I yelled, the released the new attack
Just then, a cloud of golden dust surrounded the phantom, making him look confused.
"HA!" I screamed, then made a motion with my hands that commanded every particle of the cloud to move in on him, covering him in the golden dust
His actual body was no longer visible as it was covered in gold. But the gold changed color to a fire yellow, then suddenly exploded in a show of fire. It knocked me on my back, and when I got back up, it was gone. The Phantom, the smoke…there was no evidence of the explosion at all. I then heard someone land beside me.
"Told you you could do it" I heard Sky say
"Yeah yeah, but we've gotta get home. I've got a wedding to plan"